Thursday, December 30, 2010

One new baby, a stomach flu bug, two birthdays, Christmas, and packing for a 9 hour car ride are just some of the reason your Christmas card is so late in reaching you! Thanks to the latest technology I am writing this letter as we drive to Tennessee to spend the week after Christmas with the Higgins side of the family. 2010 has been a year of blessing and much less travel than last year! Instead, We had lots of visits from different family members, which was a nice change of pace. Our first full winter in Missouri was cold and since I was struggling with pregnancy sickness, we laid low, but did receive a wonderful visit from dear friends in February. I still taught swim lessons at the Y, but stopped guarding since I was pregnant. The girls started developing great imaginations and enjoyed playing more and more with each other, as well as, our mornings playing at the Y child-watch. In May, the girls and i took a trip to see my parents and youngest sister before she left for a DTS in Scotland. We actually were there during the Great Flood, but thankfully my parents home didn't have any damage. The summer was in a word, hot. Hot in normal standards, but for a pregnant woman...brutal. We did some traveling to Columbia and then a trip to Colorado to surprise my sister and dad for Fathers Day, as he was visiting there that weekend. Fourth of July was spent with Family in Iowa to continue our two year tradition. For the most part we stayed put as we waited for the due date to come closer. Payge and Haydee enjoyed lots of time at the pools throughout the city, as well as their first official group swim lessons, which they loved. We joined up with a mom's group at our church and met for lots of Tuesday play groups. Since preschool was also out for some of their friends we were able to have a lot more play-dates. Spencer worked really hard through all the humidity and heat, but still likes his job and we are grateful to have one during these times! After keeping a busy pace, our third baby was born on August 20th. Myles Alan, a boy, much to our surprise and joy. We had lots of visitors and spent the next few months settling into life with three! These days Payge, who just turned 4, is full of questions and lots of 'why's?'. She is insightful, goofy, loving, and full of life. Haydee, 2 going on 20, is just as curious, if not more so, and I call here my 'button pusher', always testing, touching things around her. She still loves to cuddle, climb, laugh, play with her baby dolls and dress up. Both girls enjoy any kind of puzzle, reading books, dancing, shows, and cooking with mommy. Mostly, they love their brother who, for the most part, puts up with it. Myles, now 4 months, is growing so quickly and has two teeth all the way in- ouch! He is very strong and I am now trying to keep up with his curiosity and beginning movements. He doesn't sleep as well after sickness & a Thanksgiving trip, but sleep is highly overrated, right?Like I mentioned Spencer is still working hard and is looking forward to the slower, winter schedule. He is an incredible daddy and the girls adore his willingness to come home and play outside or get down on the floor to work on puzzles. We have joined a small, weekly Bible Study and are making some great couple relationships. Our church is still a far drive, but we really love it and look forward to going every week. I am still doing insurance billing from home and this July added Spencer's brother, who is a Chiropractor, as one of my 'clients'. This keeps me really busy in my 'down time'. Mostly these days, I spend my days doing something that involves feeding someone or cleaning up after feeding someone. At least I enjoy cooking! We've already started pre-K work with the girls, but this next year we are going to start exploring schooling options, in effort to keep up with their desire for learning. Well, if you made it to the end you either are bored or really love us. Thanks for reading! Hope that 2011 brings each of you more joy than this last year and hope for the years to come. All our love, Spencer, Amy, Payge, Haydee, and Myles

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Regardless of modern technology to keep us up-to-the-minute on each others lives, I still feel compelled to send out a Christmas card to everyone we have an address. Well, not everyone, I did cut down the list this year due to ever increasing prices of everything. Anyway, none of these pictures made it on the card this year, but I thought this was a great representation of the process of trying to get a good picture of two tired parents,a 3 year old,a 2 year old,and a 3 month old. I had grand ideas of what it should look like and so did Spencer, of course they were just a bit different. After the typical frustration of such a venture we were happy with the result and no marriage or child was harmed in the making of this picture.By the way, I didn't post anything about Thanksgiving because I don't think we took many pictures. Well, I didn't. We all got sick, sick, sick. No puking this year, praise the Lord, (seriously I think I win the award for person who dreads and hates puking the most) just ear infections and general, long lasting flu symptoms. I even lost a pound- now that is a miracle, especially during Thanksgiving. We went to Iowa and drove in two separate vehicles in order to pick up the dinning room table my father-in-law made. It is truly a work of art and will highlight it on the blog soon. After two days there and one morning of Wicks family photos we drove to Des Moines for the annual Carlson family reunion (my m-i-l's fam). One night in a hotel room with all five of us and 4 of us sick was enough to have us check out early and head back home. It wasn't the popular choice, but after no sleep the night before I was so grateful we did. We have sense recovered and I did attempt to make another Thanksgiving meal for us,just so I could enjoy it this time and the leftovers; of course!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

I wish I had been better about doing this before, but lately both girls have been saying some of the cutest things. Some might not be as interesting if you don't know the whole story, but this is more for my sake."Merry Crikmas!" - Payge"This is actually pretty good!" - Payge"Paygey"- Haydee"We need to give our old puzzles away now" - Haydee"My daddy is the best daddy, he is precious to me." Payge"I'm not picking his toes, mommy!" Payge

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Every year, the company my husband works for, converts their warehouse into a play area with bouncy houses, slides, and pony rides. It is just a fun time to meet the other employees and their families. We tried something new today and decided to skip naps for the girls. It worked since they are actually asleep before 10 tonight! Anyway, this afternoon we went and the girls had a blast riding the ponies and going on the slide at least 50 times. Payge loved looking at her painted self in the mirror. Haydee took it all very seriously, she wanted something blue- she didn't care what, just as long as it was blue.

Well, as I am sure many moms of more than one can testify to, I have quickly lost track of Myles' age. I am just trying to remember that the 20th of each month means he is getting older, which is happening very quickly. I am doing my best to savor all the moments, but life keeps going and the piles are growing. Here are a few pictures from last weekend hanging out at home. I realized this weekend, believe it or not, that he is already teething! Thankfully, he is tougher about it than the girls, but still I can't believe it. He is growing like crazy; in the 75th percentile for height and 50th for weight!

Well, my camera died as we went out to trick or treat this year, but I thought I would include the ones I had. Spencer was down in Alabama with his dad visiting his grandparents. We missed the trip down there this summer, as we normally go in August, but being 38 weeks pregnant meant we had to miss out this time. Spencer's mom took the opportunity to come see her grandkids, dad and siblings and spent the weekend with us. I sure appreciated having company; we kept busy and the weekend flew by. I really hadn't decided if I was going to have the girls participate in Halloween, just because I didn't know if they would actually care. Of course, after being asked "what are you going to be for Halloween?" by any interested adult and peer who knew what to look forward too, I didn't have a choice. Payge would often answer, "a princess" and Haydee would say, "Snow White". The Friday before Halloween my mother in law and I went to a kids consignment store to look for clothes for the winter. We walked in and right away the girls went to the costume rack and found a beautiful princess costume in pink in Payge's size. I was worried that I wouldn't find a second comparable outfit for Haydee, but in two minutes I found an actual Snow White costume, exactly her size! I couldn't believe it! I debated buying a frog outfit for Myles, but I decided to pass this year.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Thanks to Grammy and Papau, Payge got to take a few months of ballet lessons this year. Haydee often gets to do something special with mom or dad because its hard for her to not get to be a part of the lesson, but this time they let her join in the last ten minutes of class. Even though this last video is a little blurry, I had to post it. This is before the last lesson she had and they wanted to practice some of their dancing. This is their version of one of the songs from the movie "Mary Poppins".

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

It is sad, but true; it took us a year and a half since we moved here to have our first party. For those that know me well, it would be a shock to the system, I used to always be throwing, hosting, giving or planning some sort of party back in the day. Marriage, a few kids, moves, and what seems like a lifetime later, I am finally back into the swing of things. It sure isn't how I used to do things, but it was fun and exactly what I needed! We are making good friends here in KC and not where I thought we would find them, but it doesn't really matter. We all have kids around the same age, so it makes it quite the exciting time as we chase them or feed them, discipline, and often are interrupted by them. It was a fun evening; chili, cornbread, pumpkin dessert, pumpkin carving, a bon-fire and s'mores!

It has seemed like the longest summer I have ever experienced, but truly, it has taken awhile to have things cool down and be the crisp Fall that I look forward to all Summer long. The fire pit is finally getting to be used and days outside are fun and sweat free! Last weekend we enjoyed taking in the chilly night air around the fire while having the most interesting conversations with our 3 and 2 year old. It also has been so much fun to meet up with great friends and enjoy the local outdoor activities!

I can't believe how fast time goes. It's almost time to take pictures again for his 2nd month!Anyway, he is a wonderful baby and it almost makes me want to have more. His naps are inconsistent, but he really does great at night. The biggest problem is helping him get enough sleep, because when he gets tired- watch out!The girls still want to kiss him, hold him, see him, anything that has to do with him all the time, and he puts up with it surprisingly well. Now the fact that it drives me crazy is another thing.

So we found this cute little farm that had several types of Apple trees that were ready to pick. It was an hour drive, but well worth it!I was surprised that Apple farms were so few and far between in Missouri, but it just wouldn't feel like Fall if we couldn't keep this tradition. The little man slept through the whole thing, but the girls loved picking. I had to go through their baskets when they were distracted because they managed to pick all the rotten ones. We came out with a good basket full and a few in our tummies as well!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The rest of the summer was hot, hot, hot and I spent my days trying to keep the girls busy and happy while dealing with a very pregnant belly. I love the idea of being pregnant, I really do, but I do not like being pregnant. Try hard, I did, to not complain too much, but by the time we were at 38 weeks, Spencer was just as ready as I was to have this baby. I am not sure what makes me so miserable, but number 3 was the worst yet and made me want to take permanent measures to make sure this would be our last biological child. At last, after going to many pools within the city and trying out all air conditioned activities, my mom came out to help during the last week of my pregnancy. She was a blessed reprieve and saving grace to a very tired mommy and daddy. The girls loved having Mimi here and enjoyed getting more and more excited and praying at every chance for the baby to get here! The morning of my schedule induction, my water did break, which made me hopeful for a faster labor. Well,that labor story is one I won't bore you with, but at last at 3:03 in the afternoon Myles Alan made his way into the world. I was in shock! Its a boy! Wow! So excited with this new found love and in awe of this perfectly, healthy creation. I am sure that many moms spend a lot of their pregnancy wondering what their child will be like, but most importantly will this child be healthy and okay. Praise the Lord that all my fears could be put to rest. All the family made it to see this little one and the first few days were a blur of hospital visits and a coming home to a house full of family. The girls adore their new brother, even though they were sure they were getting a sister. The biggest problem is making sure they don't smother him with love. Within a few days we got news that my mom's dad was failing quickly and could my mom come out to be with him before he left. I was a wreck! So scared of being alone with three kids so quickly and yet not wanting to be selfish by keeping my mom away from her dad. Well, after many tears my mom decided to wait to go out to California. Little did we know that two days later she would need to leave after all to hopefully say good-bye before he left us for heaven. She made it out in time and Papa Rollo even had it in him to give one more "good" day. He said he was ready to go and on August 30th he quietly went to see Jesus. We rejoice over his full and beautiful life, but cry over our loss until we see him again. During all of this I read a book called "Bittersweet". I highly recommend it to any of my girlfriends. It touched me in a way a book hasn't in a long time and it was perfect for all that I was going through. It's a book of essays, perfect for a mom like me so I could pick it up and put it down quite easily. Anyway, as I read it, I was convicted of how I was closed to so much of what the Lord has been trying to do in this time and probably missing out on some of the joys He has been trying to give me. So, while I could go on about my revelation I leave it at this; I will take the bitter with the sweet and pray that I can savor it all no matter how it goes while (hopefully), "making the most", Ephesians 5:15. In the meantime, we have all adjusted amazingly well. Myles is truly the answer to my prayers and sleeps "like a baby!". Life is good, and its up to me to let it be as simple as He has given it to me.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Before baby #3 comes we decided to get in a quick surprise trip back to Colorado. It was a short trip and sadly we couldn't see everyone that we had hoped, but it was a wonderful time catching up with family, friends and taking in the most incredible weather. How I miss a summer without humidity!Car travel with the girls has gotten so much easier. I think about how crazy I was driving the same trek all alone with them over a year ago. I survived though and now, they really have become car travel pros.Spencer had a great Father's Day weekend, camping, golf, the Hungry Bear twice, guy's night out, and of course being with his girls! I got to surprise both my sister at work and when my dad came in from Tennessee he was shocked to see us all there. He was able to have 3 of his 4 kids together for Father's Day; we all are missing Aunie while she is in Scotland.The girls got to see some of their friends and of course most importantly Mimi, Papa, and their Aunts and Uncles. A good time was had by all.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

After a few months sabbatical from travel this year (if you knew our travels last year you would agree we needed it)the girls and I got super cheap tickets on Southwest (how I love this airline!) and went to visit my parents and youngest sister in Tennessee. We wanted one last visit with Aunie before her travels to Scotland and I knew this would be the last time, for awhile I could travel alone with the kids. I figure after the third comes in August I won't be doing much travel alone! The grocery store is going to be challenging enough with three 3 and under.We had plans to try take in the local theater show both my mom and sister were staring in and maybe some local historical sites, but mostly our visit was about spending time together. Well, thankfully I got to see one of the shows and we got plenty of quality time, but we didn't get to see much else. We happen to visit the weekend of the great flood of Nashville. My parents live just outside of Nashville, but their community was one that got hit hardest by the rain and flooding. It was crazy! I really had never seen so much rain continuously for two whole days. We even had a few tornado scares and spent time in the closet in the middle of the house (no basement). Thankfully the house they are in was not affected, but of course much in their neighborhood was. I didn't take many pictures of the flooding, but we got plenty of pictures of the girls!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

We got an amazing package from a family friend filled with all these fun treats for the girls! They had a blast playing with them all afternoon and we had to pry them away in order to leave for church. When we got home they insisted on taking them to bed with them- literally, they slept with them all. This morning at 6:15 I heard little hands turn on their light switch. In hopes to get a little more time before facing the day I went into their room to tuck them back in. What I saw was Haydee with her hat on her head, backpack on her shoulders, duck tucked under her arm while pulling her little suitcase around the room. Oh, how I wish I had a video. Here are the pictures that will be sent with a huge thank you.

Sorry for the long absence. I had a resolution this year to do Facebook and my blog once a week and I have failed miserably at both. Mostly due to the first 4 months of this pregnancy sucking every ounce of energy from me and party due to just being overwhelmed with life. Now, we are almost at the 5 month mark and I'm working hard to catch up for lost time, on our house, paperwork, and everything else. So, here it goes...

Saturday, March 20, 2010

We got about a foot of snow March 20th. This of course, after two glorious days spent playing outside, it made me feel like we were back in Colorado. We've had cabin fever something fierce. Maybe it will be the last snow for the winter and we tried to enjoy it to the fullest! The videos speak for themselves.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

My mom got to visit for a couple of days over Haydee's second birthday. We had a fantastic morning at JumpingJax and a fun afternoon making cupcakes. That evening we had a blast watching her opening gifts and trying to keep Payge from taking over. This year the sibling birthday blues hit hard, but a little finger puppet from Aunt Carla helped ease the pain. Btw- if anyone knows how I can make a slide show with the pictures and link them to the blog, let me know!